Chinese Spy Balloon

[Seran]

We wouldn’t have known that by not shooting it down right away it was able to complete its mission & transmit data back to China?

I suppose that is true.

So your argument is that a balloon with inferior capabilities to Chinese spy satellites and communications monitoring stations should have been shot down over US soil where it's self destruction capabilities may have resulted in loss of American life? Knowing full well it's complete destruction would tell us nothing about it's capabilities? This somehow a better solution to confirming via a water landing what it's capabilities and mission was without the loss of life? You're pretty dumb.